ENDviolence kicks off at OCL

The tournament beings together 12 teams from eight OFC Member Associations and players from each of those sides have become advocates for the campaign by wearing the ENDviolence slogan as they warm-up, and through personal messages against violence which will be shared with their fans.Papua New Guinea international and Hekari United midfielder Wira Wama is among the players advocating the campaign, and says his personal respect for women ties in with his religion.“Awareness about violence towards women is important because they are a creation of God, and God created us equal,” he says.OFC Head of Social Responsibility and International Relations Franck Castillo believes that having international players advocating the campaign and influencing their young fans will help make the ENDviolence campaign a success. “It is important that we reach people through their role models to really make an impact on their perception towards women,” Castillo explains.“Organisations will not be able to have the same effect on football fans as top football players. “Hearing this important message from athletes they look up to will make a difference to young people’s attitudes towards violence.”It is a sentiment Wama strongly agrees with.“There are a lot of fans out there and if you display that kind of character on the field you can hopefully help people off the field,” he says.The OFC Champions League was the first international platform utilised by OFC and UNICEF to promote the ENDviolence campaign in Oceania. The upcoming OFC Nations Cup and the FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup will also be used as channels to promote the campaign. The ENDviolence campaign was developed by OFC in collaboration with UNICEF. It focuses on ending the violence towards women and children through awareness campaigns which will be ongoing in 10 countries across the Pacific throughout 2016.